Did you get your kite up yesterday? Enough Bermudians and a fair few residents hailing from far and wide all attempted to do so as part of the Good Friday celebrations. Although there was sufficient wind, varying degrees of success were had.

It is funny to think of this local obsession with paper and string that has its roots in a teacher’s attempt to explain a Biblical event to youth. Perhaps even stranger is that the kite phenomenon can be linked to other islands albeit for a totally different purpose; namely fishing.

If you go to Wikipedia and look up “kite fishing”, its origin is attributed to China. This may or may not be true because there is plenty of evidence of it having been used for centuries through Polynesia and other Pacific Islands.

There is plenty of rationale behind kite fishing. It simply allows one to put a bait somewhere other than where they are located. Even from the shore, it is possible to deploy a bait some distance out into the water without a boat. It also allows a fisherman to fish multiple lines without the risk of tangling because the length of the kite string can be varied, as can the angle of presentation. From a boat they allow the bait to be deployed away from the boat which can sometimes be an advantage.

A Florida-based fisherman by the name of Capt. Bob Lewis really developed the sport fishing application of this technique. He also merchandised and his kites can now be found all over the world as can similar products each designed to accomplish pretty much the same thing.

Actually, the Lewis kites are incredibly simple, almost to the point that they don’t even look like they will fly. Basically, they are a square of light cloth kept in that shape by an “X” comprised of two pieces of fibreglass rod, remarkably similar to the tips of ultralight rods. The trick seems to be in the bridle which is marked and that is where the main line must pull from. Move it even a tiny distance from the indicated mark and it won’t fly. What is equally amazing is that they will fly in the lightest of breezes. Heavier models are made for breezier conditions but there is a caveat here — who needs a high wind kite when you aren’t likely to be out fishing anyway?

Kite fishing is established in Bermuda although not as commonplace as it might be. Kites here are almost always fished from boats that are chumming and are often used to get a dead flying fish rigged with its fins extended in wing-like fashion to skip on the surface to attract an attack by a marauding yellowfin. They are less frequently used with live baits even though a robin skittering on the surface out in the deep is likely to elicit attention from all sorts of denizens of the deep.

What isn’t seen here is trolling with kites deployed. This takes a bit of expertise because the kite will be responding to the prevailing wind and will like present the bait well clear of the boat’s wake. A run to windward will usually cause the kite to lose altitude and this can have disastrous results especially if the kite sinks. At that point the beneficial aerodynamics suddenly convert to problematic hydrodynamics as the kite will offer considerable water resistance to any retrieval.

Still, this is an innovative form of angling that might offer some potential for those willing to try it. Like so many innovative techniques this requires a crew that is both patient and “on the ball” Just having a fishing line running to a kite is something similar to having an outrigger several hundred feet long and the fishing line going through a clip right at the top — plenty of slack to deal with before things come tight.

Sadly, this has been a poorer than usual week for fishing. The commercial operators took advantage of the better days at the start of the week to bring their respective lobster seasons to a close; the holiday is associated with not fishing and now the weather is leaving something to be desired.

Make no mistake though; there are plenty of spring signs both inshore and offshore. All it will really take is a few good days in a row that will allow the professionals to really work over the drop-off areas and to ascertain where the fish are most likely to be. There must be some bait out there even if it isn’t obvious to the naked eye and where there is bait there will be fish, sooner or later. And where there are fish, the angler will find Tight Lines!